Gableman May Lose Law License For Three Years

Former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman speaks Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Michael Gableman, the former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who led a failed investigation into the 2020 election results, should lose his license for three years, according to a recommendation from the Office of Lawyer Regulation.

That recommendation came in a settlement over a set of complaints filed against Gableman for his conduct during the investigation, which was ordered by Wisconsin Assembly Republicans and ultimately uncovered no widespread wrongdoing in the election.

A lengthy complaint filed by the Office of Lawyer Regulation, or OLR, in November alleged Gableman violated state code for professional conduct in 10 instances, including lying and disrespecting a judge.

On Monday, the OLR and Gableman announced that a deal had been reached in which Gableman essentially pleaded no contest and the OLR recommended a suspension of his license.

That recommendation will next go to a referee and eventually make its way to the state Supreme Court, on which Gableman served a term from 2008-18.

Gableman did not immediately respond to WPR’s request for comment.

The state body argued in its November complaint that Gableman violated privilege with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who ordered the investigation. Gableman has since become an outspoken critic of Vos, and supported efforts to recall him from his Assembly seat last year.

Vos, who hired Gableman in June 2021 and fired him in August 2022, did not immediately return WPR’s request for comment.

Over the course of his investigation, Gableman racked up a multimillion-dollar price tag, paid for by the state Legislature with public funds. He was also served with multiple separate lawsuits, including one about how he handled public records, and briefly held in contempt for failing to produce documents pertaining to the inquiry.

The OLR complaint also says that he disrespected the judge and opposing counsel in that case.

In March, Gableman declined to testify before the OLR, citing the Fifth Amendment, which protects a defendant against self-incrimination. An attorney for the OLR said Gableman could only invoke that for criminal cases, not the state board.

An Assembly committee, two mayors and a hot mic

Gableman’s alleged misconduct was tied to nearly every step of his investigation, from how he first became contracted to form the Office of Special Counsel, to how he handled an ensuing lawsuit about his handling of public records.

According to the complaint, Gableman entered into the contract with Vos under the pretense of developing recommendations for strengthening election administration. Instead, the complaint alleges, Gableman was motivated to try to overturn the 2020 election results. It also alleges that he violated confidentiality expectations with the Legislature.

Gableman also allegedly repeatedly lied before an Assembly committee in 2021, including saying that various city officials were not complying with the investigation and alleging that they were involved in a coverup with Wisconsin Elections Commission chief Meagan Wolfe.

Wolfe has been the subject of repeated conspiracy theories relating to the administration of the 2020 election, none of which have been backed up with evidence.

Gableman also falsely accused Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich of not complying with a deposition, and he sought court orders to have them jailed if they didn’t comply with subpoenas.

When the Washington D.C.-based American Oversight filed a lawsuit against Gableman for allegedly violating open records laws, Gableman’s conduct again spurred a complaint. During a hearing in that case, Gableman was caught on a hot mic insinuating that the female lawyer representing American Oversight and the Dane County judge, Frank Remington, had an inappropriate relationship. Remington found Gableman in contempt, called the comments misogynistic and referred him to OLR.

A disciplinary hearing was due to begin in early June. In settling, Gableman admitted that he “cannot successfully defend against the allegations of misconduct.”

According to reporting by WisPolitics, taxpayers covered almost $50,000 for Gableman’s private attorneys during the OLR process. That’s separate from the more than $2.3 million that the investigation itself cost, most of which was for legal fees incurred to defend Gableman in multiple lawsuits related to his conduct in the investigation.

American Oversight was also awarded more than $440,000 in the open records lawsuit.

In a statement, American Oversight Senior Advisor Melanie Sloan said the group is “gratified” by the settlement in the OLR case.

“We’re gratified the Office of [Lawyer] Regulation recognized and is appropriately seeking punishment of Mr. Gableman for his deplorable conduct throughout the litigation, including his disregard for the law, his misogynistic treatment of our counsel, and his blatant disrespect for the court,” she said.

An ongoing rift with Vos

Since the investigation, Gableman has remained a force behind Wisconsin’s election denial movement — which has in turn led to friction with Vos, the state’s most powerful Republican.

After Vos declined to overturn President Donald Trump’s narrow loss in Wisconsin in 2020, critics mounted a primary challenge for his southeast Wisconsin Assembly district. Among the allies of that movement was Gableman, who endorsed Vos’ opponent.

Vos won only narrowly, and he fired Gableman days later, calling Gableman “an embarrassment to the state.”

Some of those Vos opponents later mounted multiple unsuccessful recall efforts against the speaker. Once again, Gableman was in the fray.

Part of the recall group’s complaint against Vos is that he did not move to decertify the 2020 election or impeach Wolfe, Wisconsin’s elections chief.

Vos has since called for Gableman to be disbarred on multiple occasions.

Listen to the WPR report

Gableman might temporarily lose law license after deal with Wisconsin regulation board was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.